How To Be More Persistent To Achieve Your Goals

As a general rule, there is a strong correlation between the prevailing economic sentiment and the national rate of consumer spending. This was in evidence this week, as Barclaycard reported a 0.4% drop in spending during January amid rising unemployment and a growing sense of economic uncertainty in the UK.

Conversely, periods of economic growth tend to trigger more robust spending and a more positive consumer outlook, through which individuals are often able to visualize their goals more clearly. In addition to this, you may well find it easier to achieve these goals on the back of soaring economic sentiment and the sense of security that it brings.

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While economic and personal circumstances can impact on our ability to achieve individual goals, however, we must ultimately take responsibility for own success or failure. This means clearly visualizing your goals and setting realistic time frames for their completion, before taking practical steps towards achieving them. This will often require a tremendous amount of persistence, however, so consider the following points as you attempt to bring distant dreams into reality.

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1. Have a clear understanding of your goal.

The successful visualization of your goal is critically important, as it enables you to understand both its origins and ultimate purpose. Whether the goal is career orientated or associated with your personal life, the ability to comprehend its meaning will help you to determine its level of importance and whether or not it should be a leading priority. Most importantly, by clearly understanding your goal, you can comprehend the value that its accomplishment will add to your life.

2. Plot a clear path toward success.

While having a clear end goal is critically important, it means little unless you are able to plot a clear and achievable path towards success. Planning your course and establishing time frames can also help you to understand whether or not it is realistically achievable, or if a compromise may be needed to make it viable. If you are to translate a dream into something tangible, this is a crucial and insightful process.

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3. Create a series of simple and practical steps.

On a similar note, achieving any goal can also be made easier by breaking it down into a series of simple, practical and chronological steps. This not only makes it seem more manageable, but it also provides a constant reference to your progress and the steps that are still required if you are to be successful. If you are easily overwhelmed, this is a technique that will ensure you remain focused at all times.

4. Do not let your goal dictate the course of your life.

The main purpose of these steps is to help make your goal more attainable, so that you can accomplish it in a way that suits your lifestyle and existing schedule. It is crucial that your goal does not dictate the course of your life, as this will disturb your work-life balance and have a detrimental impact on those closest to you. This must be avoided at all costs, so take care to adopt a responsible approach towards fulfilling your dreams.

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5. Be prepared to fail and remain mentally strong.

Even with a sense of focus and a clear path towards success, outside factors can derail the most carefully laid plans. You must therefore remain driven and mentally strong while looking to achieve your goals, as you adopt a pragmatic outlook and prepare for any eventuality that may ultimately underline your ambition. While some may consider this to be a negative mindset, preparing to fail can ensure that you remain on course when things do go wrong.

6. Adjust and change your course as required.

On the occasions that you do encounter difficulty, there may be a need to adjust your course and tailor your plans accordingly. This flexible and proactive approach enables you to react positively to even the most significant challenges, while it may also help you to constantly review your goals and the methods used to accomplish them. Even if you are not faced with an immediate problem, you may still wish to adapt if you identify a better way of realizing your goals.

7. Do not let success reduce your drive or level of motivation.

For most individuals, life represents a series of challenges and changeable goals that require accomplishment. Once you have begun to achieve your individual goals, however, it is important to maintain your existing level of drive and innate hunger to succeed. Even short-term or relatively moderate success can create a sense of complacency and de-motivation, so you must retain focus if you are to accomplish multiple goals in your lifetime.

With these thoughts in mind, you should be able to successfully accomplish individual goals throughout the course of your life. More importantly, you will also be able to maintain your sense of drive and remain successful over a prolonged period of time.

How to Write SMART Goals (With SMART Goals Templates)

Everyone needs a goal. Whether it’s in a business context or for personal development, having goals help you strive towards something you want to accomplish. It prevents you from wandering around aimlessly without a purpose.

But there are good ways to write goals and there are bad ways. If you want to ensure you’re doing the former, keep reading to find out how a SMART goals template can help you with it.

The following video is a summary of how you can write SMART goals effectively:

What Are SMART Goals?

refer to a way of writing down goals that follow a specific criteria. The earliest known use of the term was by George T. Doran in the November 1981 issue of Management Review, however, it is often associated with Peter Drucker’s management by objectives concept.[1]

SMART is an acronym that stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound. There are other variations where certain letters stand for other things such as “achievable” instead of attainable, and “realistic” instead of relevant.

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What separates a SMART goal from a non-SMART goal is that, while a non-SMART goal can be vague and ill-defined, a SMART goal is actionable and can get you results. It sets you up for success and gives you a clear focus to work towards.

And with SMART goals comes a SMART goals template. So, how do you write according to this template?

How to Write Smart Goals Using a SMART Goals Template

For every idea or desire to come to fruition, it needs a plan in place to make it happen. And to get started on a plan, you need to set a goal for it.

The beauty of writing goals according to a SMART goals template is that it can be applied to your personal or professional life.

If it’s your job to establish goals for your team, then you know you have a lot of responsibility weighing on your shoulders. The outcome of whether or not your team accomplishes what’s expected of them can be hugely dependant on the goals you set for them. So, naturally, you want to get it right.

On a personal level, setting goals for yourself is easy, but actually following through with them is the tricky part. According to a study by Mark Murphy about goal setting, participants who vividly described their goals were 1.2 to 1.4 times more likely to successfully achieve their goals.[2] Which goes to show that if you’re clear about your goals, you can have a higher chance of actually accomplishing them.

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Adhering to a SMART goals template can help you with writing clear goals. So, without further ado, here’s how to write SMART goals with a SMART goals template:

Specific

First and foremost, your goal has to be specific. Be as clear and concise as possible because whether it’s your team or yourself, whoever has to carry out the objective needs to be able to determine exactly what it is they are required to do.

To ensure your goal is as specific as it can be, consider the Ws:

Who = who is involved in executing this goal?

What = what exactly do I want to accomplish?

Where = if there’s a fixed location, where will it happen?

When = when should it be done by? (more on deadline under “time-bound”)

Why = why do I want to achieve this?

Measurable

The only way to know whether or not your goal was successful is to ensure it is measurable. Adding numbers to a goal can help you or your team weigh up whether or not expectations were met and the outcome was triumphant.

For example, “Go to the gym twice a week for the next six months” is a stronger goal to strive for than simply, “Go to the gym more often”.

Setting milestone throughout your process can also help you to reassess progress as you go along.

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Attainable

The next important thing to keep in mind when using a SMART goals template is to ensure your goal is attainable. It’s great to have big dreams but you want your goals to be within the realms of possibility, so that you have a higher chance of actually accomplishing them.

But that doesn’t mean your goal shouldn’t be challenging. You want your goal to be achievable while at the same time test your skills.

Relevant

For obvious reasons, your goal has to be relevant. It has to align with business objectives or with your personal aspirations or else, what’s the point of doing it?

A SMART goal needs to be applicable and important to you, your team, or your overall business agenda. It needs to be able to steer you forward and motivate you to achieve it, which it can if it holds purpose to something you believe in.

Time-Bound

The last factor of the SMART goals template is time-bound (also known as “timely”). Your goal needs a deadline, because without one, it’s less likely to be accomplished.

A deadline provides a sense of urgency that can motivate you or your team to strive towards the end. The amount of time you allocate should be realistic. Don’t give yourself—or your team—only one week if it takes three weeks to actually complete it. You want to set a challenge but you don’t want to risk over stress or burn out.

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Benefits of Using a SMART Goals Template

Writing your goals following a SMART goals template provides you with a clearer focus. It communicates what the goal needs to achieve without any fuss.

With a clear aim, it can give you a better idea of what success is supposed to look like. It also makes it easier to monitor progress, so you’re aware whether or not you’re on the right path.

It can also make it easier to identify bottlenecks or missed targets while you’re delivering the goal. This gives you enough time to rectify any problems so you can get back on track.

The Bottom Line

Writing goals is seemingly not a difficult thing to do. However, if you want it to be as effective as it can be, then there’s more to it than meets the eye.

By following a SMART goals template, you can establish a more concrete foundation of goal setting. It will ensure your goal is specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound—attributes that cover the necessities of an effectively written goal.